Little Characters in Roles from Plays to Politics

By: Katie Cordrey - Published: Feb 22, 2009 • References:

The title of the lead photo for this cluster of trends is "Master of Puppets." It’s from photographic works by Chaira Fershini. Of it she says, "I’m trying to convince myself that the many things are happening to me these days are happening for a reason, a good one I guess..."

Human beings alternately feel manipulated by something larger than themselves and finding themselves instances where they are doing the manipulation. We use the terms "puppet" and "puppeteer" to describe these two roles. However, there’s more to the metaphor than the obvious.

The first puppets may have originated as much as 30,000 years ago. They would have likely been shadow-puppets, which are mentioned in Greek philosophy. They have been used throughout history to tell the stories that animate and explain sacred concepts, to entertain and to make political commentary. Those puppeteers who allowed their puppets to take part in political criticism sometimes found themselves imprisoned.

Author, David Logan states, "Puppetry is a highly effective and dynamically creative means of exploring the richness of interpersonal communication. By its very nature, puppetry concentrates on the puppet rather than the puppeteer. This provides a safety zone for the puppeteer and allows for exploration of unlimited themes through a safe and non-threatening environment for communication."